


Pull Down The Mountain

by alivingxfile



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Eventual Romance, M/M, Mutual Pining, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-06-25 00:00:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19734301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alivingxfile/pseuds/alivingxfile
Summary: Just Bruce and Thor falling in love in college. Bruce has some anxiety and trauma he needs to work through. There's some denial, some pining. You know, the good stuff.





	1. Cherry-Stained Teeth

**Author's Note:**

> Hey what's up you guys I've been promising this for months and I finally buckled down and I'm forcing myself to post some of it.

Bruce sat criss-cross-applesauce on the floor, his two physics textbooks and laptop spread out before him. He pushed his glasses up his nose and squinted at the screen before putting them back down. His back ached and his fingers were freezing cold. He’d just gotten out of his night class, and went straight home to begin working on more homework. He loved learning it was just the studying that got to him. He wanted to learn everything about everything and he wanted to know it all right this second and he became very easily overwhelmed with all there is to learn and how he was unable to just absorb it all at once. His phone buzzed twice against his thigh. He pulled it out and he shut his laptop with a snap.

_Hey honey its mom. Just wondering if you’re able to come home over Christmas break? Send me your academic calendar so I know when your breaks are. Love you. -Mom_

She still signed her texts as if they were emails. Bruce found this endearing. He let himself flop backward and lay flat on his back on the hard ground. The blue light of his phone illuminated his face as he tapped out a reply to his mom. 

_Of course I’ll b home 4 the holidays. wouldn’t miss it._

He scrolled through Instagram, still laying on the ground. He paused on a picture someone from his study group posted. Four shiny faces smiled up at him through the screen. It was captioned “Nite on the town” wine glass emoji, toasting glasses emojj, party horn emoji. Bruce sighed and locked his phone, placing it on his chest. He closed his eyes. It’s not like they were excluding him. They’d asked him to go. But his anxiety was so bad especially in new places and most certainly in a bar and he didn’t know anyone well enough so they could be his security blanket for the night, so he’d declined their group chat invitation. He could feel his chest tighten just thinking about being out. His phone buzzed on his chest, startling him. It was his mom again, of course. 

_Okay sweetie. Also let me know if you’re bringing anyone with you so I can get the guest room ready._ She followed this with three eyeball emojis. She didn’t even try at subtlety anymore.  
She followed with another message:  
_If not, my friend Miranda has a son who just broke up with his boyfriend. Also, your old friend Katy moved back to town after dropping out of culinary school. Let me know if I should invite either of them._  
He couldn't help but laugh. It was a tired, sad, a little-exasperated laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. He knew his mom meant well and he loved her more than anything in the world. She’d been through so much. They’d been through so much. He would never ask her to be anything other than what she was, and right now that just happened to be a meddling mother. His phone buzzed again.  
Sorry if I’m overwhelming you. Just don’t want you to be lonely. I love you.  
She was right, he was lonely. But relationships were never really his thing. 

He sighed and ran his hand over his face. He was so tired of worrying her, of disappointing her. He knew she was proud he excelled at school but let's face it, he excelled because it was all he had. Academia was merely a distraction from the fact that his only real meaningful human interaction came from his once a week study group. (That is, unless you count his morning trips to the coffee shop where the baristas chatted him up and he awkwardly answered while trying not to spill his coffee and get out of there as fast as he could). Not quite the riveting social life one imagines when they think about being a college student. 

He sat up and gathered his textbooks and laptop, stacking them on top of each other before standing up. He was lucky, he thought as he took in his little apartment. When his father died he and his mother had donated most of the money and kept just enough for Rebecca to keep her home and live comfortably and for Bruce to have some money to live off of. His apartment wasn’t nice by the usual standards, but it wasn’t bad either. It was his favorite place in the world. He’d filled the kitchen, small living room and his bedroom with plants. Scientific diagrams and famous quotes were plastered on the walls. If he liked something, often it went up on the wall whether that be by tape, or if it was too big, he placed it on a cubed shelf on the wall. He has 3 bookshelves. Two in his room, which made it a bit hard to get around, if he was being honest. The other was in the living room. The one there was filled with an assortment of books, the most recent were books he was reading for his English class. There were novels, old textbooks. Textbooks he didn’t even need but had found at a thrift bookstore and looked interesting. The two in his room were more organized. One was completely filled with biographies. The top shelf autobiographies, the middle shelf science biographies and the bottom celebrity biographies (we all have our vices). The other shelf wasn’t really a bookshelf it served more as Bruce’s nightstand and general storage place. There were, however, multiple self-help books that he was hoping would help him discover methods to help him be less… whatever he was. 

He had just placed his laptop and textbooks onto this shelf when his phone began to ring. What else could his mom want to say that she hadn’t already? He tried not to be irritated as he pulled his phone from his pocket. To his surprise, it wasn’t his mom, it was one of the boys from his study group.  
“Hello?” He said uncertainly, sure that the boy had called the wrong number, or more likely just straight up butt-dialed him. 

“Hey. Uh. Bruce? It’s Thor from study group. I’m so sorry to bother you but uh. I was supposed to be our designated driver tonight and all night I was drinking this punch right? And it was delicious but then I tried to stand up and got really dizzy and long story short the punch was not, in fact, virgin and now we have no way of getting home. Could you maybe come get us?”  
Bruce paused for a second, lowering his phone to his thigh before sighing. “Yeah sure. Where are you?”  
“We sent the address is in the group chat earlier if you wanna get it from there.”  
“Oh yeah..right. Thanks.” Bruce felt his cheeks get hot and he was glad that Thor was on the other side of the phone and couldn’t see him blush. He cursed the fact that he embarrassed so easily. He copy and pasted the address into his GPS and texted Thor that he’d be there in 10 minutes. 

The night air was cold. The fur on the collar of his jean jacket wasn’t doing much to keep Bruce warm. “C’mon C’mon C’mon.” He muttered to his heater as he flicked on his blinker. He hoped his car would be at least semi-warm by the time he picked up his drunk study group pals.  
At the next stoplight, he clicked on the radio and turned the volume on low. At least there would be something to soothe the awkward silence that was inevitable.  
“I’m here.” He texted the group chat. Natasha responded with an emoji and Thor wrote: “Be right out.” 

He saw a group of four people leave the bar and figured it must be them. Thor threw open the door and the other three, Nat, Steve and Clint all squeezed in the back together and Thor took front seat.  
“Thanks for doing this Bruce, my good man.” Thor smiled. His teeth were stained a cherry red and he reeked of alcohol. How he couldn’t tell that the punch was spiked, Bruce didn’t know.

“No Problem,” Bruce said. “So who am I taking home first?” He looked in the rearview mirror to see that Clint was already asleep, his head nodding on Steve’s shoulder. 

“Uh. Clint lives by the laundromat and Nat and I live on campus.” 

“I live the farthest.” Thor yawned. “Sorry about that.” 

They shook Clint awake when they made it to his house, and campus wasn’t that far from the laundromat. Before long it was just Thor left.  
“I don’t know about you but I’m starving.” Thor sat up, which pressed them closer together. He was much larger when he wasn’t slouching. Bruce could feel the texture of Thor’s corduroy jacket pressed against the jean of his own. “I’ll buy us food if you’re willing to stop before you take me home. I kinda live out in the sticks.” 

“Sure. I’m actually pretty hungry.” He laughed awkwardly. “I actually forgot to eat dinner.”  
Thor sat up even straighter. “Forgot to eat dinner? How does one “forget” to eat dinner?”

Bruce laughed, less awkwardly this time and ran his left hand through his hair, his right on the wheel. “Well, I had my night class and then I was studying for one of my other classes and time just...got away from me I guess.” Thor shook his head. “So you’re telling me that you declined a night out on the town with me and the brilliant three to study and you didn’t even manage to have dinner? That’s it. I’m buying you dessert too.”  
Thor directed Bruce to a burger place he knew was open all night. They ordered multiple burgers, two fries, and Thor insisted on soda and milkshakes. Not one to say no to free food Bruce didn’t complain. Thank goodness for multiple cup holders. 

“So” said Bruce with a burst of courage “tell me more about yourself other than the fact that you’re a lousy designated driver.” Thor threw his head back in a thunderous laugh. “Hey! I told you what happened it wasn’t my fault.” He shook his head and turned smiling toward the window.  
“What can I say about me. Well, I’m getting my bachelors in mythology and folklore with a minor in classics and ancient history. But right now I’m just getting my Gen Eds out of the way. Also, before you say it, I see the irony in a guy named Thor studying mythology. What else what else...Oh! I have multiple half-siblings and a few full ones. I like to drink on the weekends. I’m devilishly handsome what else....” 

Bruce chuckled and Thor looked at him. Was it his imagination or was he looking at him... fondly? Bruce blinked and shook his head.  
“You know, it's funny. We’ve been in this study group since the start of the semester and we hardly know each other.” Thor commented as he leaned back in his seat.  
“It is weird when you think about it. Anyway, what about you? I mean, you’re obviously a great guy. Carting around a bunch of your drunk classmates when you definitely could have just told us to find our own way home. Or like, pretended to be asleep and completely ignored our messages. And you don’t need to mention that you’re also a big nerd since you already told me you spend all your free time studying.”

“What an astute observation. Are you sure you’re not the one who should be getting their science major?”  
“No but truly, studious boy, tell me more about yourself.”

Bruce drew in a deep breath. What do you tell someone you hardly know about yourself? What parts of yourself are okay to reveal at this point? It was always things like this he struggled with. It was like he always had to wonder what would a normal person say? or how would a normal person react to this? Honestly, it was a bit exhausting  
“Well, I’m an only child. Just me and my mom, Dad is...not in the picture. I’m working on science bachelors right now but eventually, I wanna get a couple PhDs”

Thor choked on his milkshake. “A couple?”

Bruce shrugged. “Yeah but we’ll see.”  
Thor settled back into his seat and pulled his milkshake from his lips.  
“You sure are something Bruce.”

Bruce placed his hand on Thor’s shoulder and shook gently. “Hey. We’re here.” Thor yawned loudly and stretched, his long arms spanning from window to window of Bruce's tiny car.  
At the same moment that Thor sat up, Bruce turned his head. Thor's face was inches from his. He could feel the warmth of the other man's breath on his face. He could still smell the cherries that lingered on his breath. He couldn't stop his eyes as they darted to Thor's lips, pausing a moment too long. He gulped as a tremor went through his body.  
Thor didn't seem to notice. He leaned back a bit and smiled. “Thanks for the ride Bruce my good man.I really owe you one.”

“You already bought me dinner."

“Yeah but that benefits me more than you. Now you can’t say “Hey pal buy me dinner first” if I try any moves.”  
Bruce felt his face getting hot and hoped it wasn’t getting red. _God I'm such an idiot_ he thought.

Thor ruffled Bruce’s hair which in theory he didn’t like. It was something made him feel like a kid. But with Thor it felt affectionate. It felt like camaraderie. 

“Anyway thanks again. Maybe next time we hang out I’ll be a little more sober and you’ll be able to enjoy yourself with me instead of being my uber driver.” Thor opened the door and got out, waving goodbye as Bruce pulled out of his driveway. 

Bruce’s face was still hot.


	2. Chapter 2

Study group the next wednesday was at their favorite little cafe on campus. Their “haunt” as Thor always called it. Really it was called  _ Jack’s BEAN Stalk _ and the coffee was great, the pastries were a little stale but they had free wifi and big tables to sprawl out on, so who could complain, even if the name was corny. 

“Natasha and I will buy drinks if you and Thor want to buy pastries, does that work?” Steve stopped rifling through his wallet to look at Bruce. Bruce reached in his pocket making sure his wallet was there. “Yeah that should work.”

So far only the four of them were there, Thor was finishing up a lecture that ran a few minutes late.

Bruce fidgeted with the hem of his shirt a bit and tried to look around the coffee shop to avoid small talk. He and Steve didn’t have a ton in common. Bruce thought he was a nice guy and all, but when they weren’t studying the small talk was almost unbearable. 

“Hey so Bruce, you uh, you like cars?” Bruce gulped.  _ And so it begins.  _ “Yeah, I actually. I don’t like to drive much. Bad for the environment, you know.”

“Wait so how do you get everywhere?” Nat piped up.

Bruce swallowed, feeling his throat getting a little tight. “I mean I HAVE a car. I just like to walk or use public transport if I can.” Bruce swallowed again, this time harder. He hated feeling like he was being annoying, or sounding pretentious. Out of the corner of his eye Bruce saw Thor was at the counter, about to order. Relief flooded over him, at least he didn’t have to entertain this stressful conversation anymore. He got up and jogged to him. “Hey. I guess you and I are getting pastries, Nat and Steve covered the drinks.” 

Thor smiled his soft smile and pulled a few bills out of his wallet. “Alright that sounds like a good deal to me.” 

Instead of acknowledging that Thor had even said anything, Bruce shoved some money into the other man's hand, spun around and walked back toward the table. 

When all four of them finally sat down, their books spread around them, Bruce couldn’t help but notice small things about Thor. It was like as much as he tried he couldn’t stop stealing glances at the blonde haired boy beside him. Everything about Thor caught his attention. The way he chewed his pen thoughtfully before answering a question, the way his knee was constantly bouncing, how he cleared his throat before asking a question.  _ Why am I hyperfocusing on him. What’s wrong with me?  _ He felt more irritable than usual today.

“Bruce? Bruce?” Bruce looked up to see that Nat was staring at him. “Sorry you just… seem like you’re not here today. You usually always know this kind of stuff.”

“Hey,” Thor interjected, “don’t be too hard on him just ‘cuz hes a space cadet.” 

Nat howled with laughter “ _ Space Cadet?  _ Someones been watching a few too many nineties sitcoms. ” 

Shaking his head Bruce skimmed the book with his finger looking for the last place he remembered, tuning out Nat and Thor’s playful bickering. Something about it was irritating him today.  _ Maybe I’m coming down with something  _ he thought.  _ I just don’t feel like myself. _

“Okay guys can we just, you know  _ study  _ like we came here to do?” He snapped. Everyone paused dramatically before erupting in laughter. Clint laughed the loudest, leaning close to Bruce in feigned sympathy. “Did someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed?” He fake pouted, his lip jutting out. 

Sweeping his arm across the table Bruce grabbed his books and shoved them into his bag. 

“I’m just gonna go. Sorry I just. I’m having a rough time I’ll see you guys later.” 

Slamming the car door Bruce relaxed into his seat with a sigh. Whatever was making him so grumpy, he really didn’t know. An hour later after he had calmed down the guilt settled in his stomach and crawled up his chest, cold and uncomfortable. He was never rude, it was so out of character for him. No wonder the looks of shock and confusion flickered across their faces as he left. 

He sent a quick text to the group-chat:

_ Hey guys. Sorry about earlier. Lunch at my house, groceries on me, I’ll even throw in a homemade dessert. _

Thor: _ Sounds good mister grumpy gills  _

Clint: _ Only if you don’t rip out our throats *straight teeth nervous smiling emoji* _

Natasha and Steve replied with similar sentiments.

Bruce sighed and sank down into his dining table chair. 

Without a knock, Thor threw open the door when they got there. The group settled in, flopping on the couch or sitting sprawled out on the floor. 

“Okay who wants to run with me to the grocery store real quick?” Bruce asked, pulling his keys off of a hook on the wall. Natasha yawned “Thor knows what we all like.” Thor looked up from the book he had picked up off of Bruce’s table and was examining thoughtfully. “Hmm? Oh yeah I’ll go.” 

Bruce tensed up. “Are you sure you don’t wanna come Clint?” Clint looked over at him, with an overly puzzled expression. “Uh yeah man I’m good. I don’t need to go to the store with you, unless you need a chaperone?” He raised an eyebrow. Bruce gritted his teeth.

“Just making sure.”

As they wandered the aisles of the grocery store Bruce noticed how Thor continued to look at his phone after every item he put into the cart. He didn’t think much of it until he happened to look over his shoulder and see a grocery list written in a notes app, with little boxes you could check. He didn’t get too good of a look before Thor turned away, but he managed to make out one of the names at the top. It was Natasha’s name with two checkable items below it. Bruce was struck by how Thor put so much care into the tiny little details of things. In the big things in life he seemed to rush about and make things big thunderous deals that took little to no consideration. But when it came to the small things, he was a dollmaker intricately etching the face onto his beloved creation. 

“So far we’ve got the special mustard Natasha likes and the rye bread for Steve. I think we should get sourdough for the rest of us, don’t you think?” Thor mused, looking from the cart to his phone. Bruce didn’t realize it, but he had been gazing at Thor until now. “Oh- Uh yeah. Yeah I think sourdough sounds great.” 

Hefting the reusable grocery bags onto his shoulders, Thor also managed to open the door for Bruce. Again, his face went hot. He muttered a thanks as he stepped through the door. 

The study group built their sandwiches together. All the grumpiness from earlier had dissipated, leaving behind the easygoing camaraderie that they all shared. 

Long after everyone else had packed up their books and left, Thor remained, picking up dishes and putting away ingredients as if it were natural for him to be in Bruce’s apartment. He filled the sink with soapy water, dunking the plates into it and humming to himself as he began scrubbing them. 

“You didn’t have to stay. I would have just taken care of it myself I really didn’t need help with a couple dishes.” Bruce said, wincing a little at how cold he sounded. He hoped Thor hadn’t registered it, but from the look on his face when he turned around, he heard him loud and clear. His facial expression quickly changed from hurt back to his sunny disposition as he turned back to the sink. “Oh that’s alright,” he said gently “I didn’t want you to be left alone to do it all by yourself.” Again Bruce regretted how rude he sounded. It was like his mouth was trying to sabotage him at every move. 

Thor finished up the last dish and dried his hands on the towel that sat by the sink 

“Actually that towel was for-” Bruce paused. “Nevermind.” 

Thor laughed and shook his head “Bruce my good man you really need to lighten up, at least a little.” He placed his hands on Bruce's shoulders and massaged gently for a moment. Electricity shot through Bruce's body, and again his face betrayed him by growing hot. He needed to move, to change the subject, anything to keep from embarrassing himself. He couldn’t think of anything to say or do his mind raced as he took a step back from Thor. “So,” he said gulping down a breath, “what are your plans for tonight?”

“Oh shit” Thor muttered, pulling out his phone and looking at the clock. “I’m gonna be late for dinner with my parents.”

“Is it a special occasion?” Bruce asked.

“No, we just get together on Wednesday nights, all of us and have a big family dinner to catch up on the week so far.”

Bruce’s shoulders slumped a little. “Oh. That's nice.” Anytime someone mentioned a healthy family dynamic he could feel himself shrinking, remembering the family he had and the kind of family he never got to experience. 

“Yeah I better go I gotta see if an uber can get me there before everyones already eaten.”

“I can take you.” Bruce blurted, before his brain even had time to process the thought. 

“Are you sure? That would be really great, then I don’t have to worry about an Uber.” 

They grabbed their jackets and Bruce fished around for his keys for a minute before they were out the door and back in Bruce’s car.

“I’m starting to be more comfortable in this car than my own.” He joked.

It was only his second time driving this route but Bruce found himself feeling familiarity at the winding tree lined roads. 

“I like it here. It’s really nice it feels like. Like an episode of  _ The X-Files  _ or something.” 

Thor smiled. “It really does. So that makes us Mulder and Scully doesn’t it.” He motioned at himself as he said Mulder and Bruce as he said Scully. 

“Oh I’m Scully am I?” Bruce raised his eyebrows. 

“Of course. Brilliant, a bit of a skeptic and keeps Mulder grounded. Sounds a lot like someone who’d have a lot of PhDs right? And Mulder definitely seems like the kind of guy who’d get a mythology and folklore degree.” 

Bruce couldn’t help the smile that inched across his face. “You know what, I see it.” 

When they pulled into Thor’s driveway Bruce put the car in park and grabbed Thor’s bag out of the backseat. 

“Hey. You could just stay for dinner. Call it payment for being my uber yet again.” 

Bruce glanced from the car door to Thor. “No that’s okay really, this is a family thing I don’t wanna barge in on it.” 

“You won’t be barging in my family will love you, and besides, I texted my mom to ask if you could join us before we even left your apartment.” 

For some reason, that made Bruce’s heart skip a beat. “Okay.” He relented. “And thanks, y’know for the invite.” Thor patted his shoulder. 

“Anytime.”


	3. Blair Witch Project

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce joins Thor's family for dinner. Intricate rituals ensue.

Thor swung open the door. The kitchen was awash in soft yellow light. Bruce’s mouth watered as a warm savory scent filled his nose. He looked around, wanting to memorize every inch of what he was seeing. He wasn’t sure why, but it felt important. A greying blonde man with ruddy cheeks sat at the head of the table, two grouchy looking teenagers seated beside him. Both were thin and pale with raven black hair, their cellphones casting a bluish light on their faces.

“Are they twins?” Bruce whispered. Thor laughed.

“Don’t ever let them hear that you said that.” And Bruce could tell he meant it.

“So Dad, this is Bruce, Bruce this is Dad.” Thor motioned back and forth.

“The two children of darkness over here are Loki and Hela,” he lowered his voice and leaned toward Bruce, “do not trust them.”

Bruce wasn’t sure whether or not to laugh but then Thor’s face broke out into a grin and he relaxed. While distractedly eyeing Thor’s siblings, he didn’t notice Thor’s mom come in. He turned around to see Thor with his arms wrapped around her.

“And this, Bruce, is my beautiful mother.” He kissed the top of her head with a smack. She was beautiful. Although she was obviously old enough to have given birth to Thor, she was beautiful in an ageless, timeless sort of way. As if she always had been and always would be. Her golden hair was piled high on her head. When she hugged him, she smelled like a health food shop. Spices and oils and warmth. It was comforting, Bruce thought.

Dinner felt like a feast from out of a movie. Hard white rolls smothered in butter, juicy meats that fell apart at the touch of a fork. There were meat pies and a creamy soup. Crunchy golden potato cakes were stacked into a tower with a creamy sour cream sauce to accompany them.

“What kind of pie is this?” Bruce forgot his mouth was still a bit full and quickly placed his hand in front of his face.

“Scotch pie.” Thor’s mother beamed as Bruce reached for another.

His stomach was so full, but he wanted to eat more. He hadn’t had food this good in… well, as long as he could remember. He felt almost guilty for even thinking that, but his own Mother knew she was not what one would consider a chef.

He looked around the table, Thor and his parents were like human beams of sunlight, always shining with a warm glow of happiness. The other two were their polar opposites, but it seemed fitting, it seemed balanced.

After dinner, Thor’s parents disappeared to the back of the house and his siblings shuffled into the living room to use the tv.

For the second time that day, Thor and Bruce stood before a sink full of dishes. Up to his elbows in warm soapy water, his belly full of food and cheeks sore from smiling, Bruce felt content. He felt the warmth and safety and love that filled the house, that filled him. Filled him with a sense of belonging, a homey-ness he’d never experienced from his own family. They were silent except for the sound of the water and the dishes hitting against each other.   
They didn’t notice that Thor’s mother had reentered the room. “Loki, Hela get back in here and help your brother and his nice friend with the cleanup!”

Thor lost his balance and leaned against Bruce for a moment before steadying himself.   
“Sorry.” He muttered, not meeting his eye.  
Thor’s sister leaned over to their mother and whispered something in her ear. She looked over at Bruce, her eyes sparkling. Bruce couldn’t stand her gaze. He blushed and turned his attention back to the sink full of dishes. “Thor’s nice friend.” was still ringing in his ears.

Later that night after the kitchen had been cleaned and Loki and Hela begged enough that their mother finally gave in and let them go out for a few hours, Thor and Bruce were alone in the living room. The tv buzzed quietly with whatever the terror twins had left on. Thor stretched out across the entire couch, with Bruce perched awkwardly on the armrest.

“C’mon, spoon me.” Thor joked. Bruce turned red. “Alright then, no to the spooning.” Thor sat up. “Let’s arm wrestle.”

Before he knew it Bruce was sprawled out on the carpet, captivated in an intense arm wrestle war. Breathless and sweaty, they collapsed onto the couch.  
“Wanna watch a movie?” Thor yawned.

“Sure. Like what?”

“I don’t know, you choose.”

Bruce wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He was thankful that they had just been arm-wrestling and Thor wouldn’t know that he was such an anxious mess that even picking a movie was an impossible task. He swallowed thickly and looked over at Thor, who had picked up the remote and was already thumbing through the movie selection.

The other man’s blonde hair was falling into his eyes. The way that he gently tucked the strand behind his ear made Bruce’s breath catch in his throat. Bruce fidgeted with the sleeve of his sweater, then stood up and stretched before sitting on the couch. He couldn’t stop fidgeting. He was the happiest he’d been in so long. With Thor’s family he felt safe and content, the house was warm and smelled like cinnamon and he was about to relax and watch a movie, yet his entire body felt electrified.

Thor finally decided they would be watching _The Blair Witch Project_ even though he’d already seen it.

When the credits rolled, Thor turns to him grinning. “So, what do we think.”

Bruce bends over and groans, his head in his hands.

Thor laughs. “Oh come on, it's one of my favorites.”

When Bruce looks up, Thor is making puppy dog eyes at him. He laughs.

“I mean. It just. Was not scary.”

“Bruce. Picture this. The year is 1999. You go to the theaters to watch a found footage film. You’re extremely confused by the nature of it. You leave the theater confused as to whether or not what you just watched was real or not. Are you scared now.”

Bruce rolls his eyes but still laughs.

“Okay, okay. I see where you’re coming from.”

After a few minutes, Bruce unlocks his phone and looks at the time.

“I better get going.”

Thor stands up with him. “Not staying the night then?” His eyes glint.  
  
Bruce laughs awkwardly and pulls on his coat, and Thor shows him to the door.   
All the way home Bruce can feel the spot on his lower back where Thor’s hand had rested as he led him to the door. 


End file.
